ENK has sold its five per cent stake in AIM-listed Toledo (LON:TMC) for A$698,000 (£440,000) and has conditionally agreed to sell its 18.7 per cent stake in Berong to World Fund Pte for A$6.55 million (£4.13 million).

The Berong stake was valued at A$3.48 million, with the sale price nearly 90 per cent over its book value.

ENK’s sale of its stake in Berong is conditional on its shareholders, Toledo and Atlas Consolidated Mining, not exercising their pre-emption rights. 

If they do, they have to match the price offered by World Fund Pte Limited. Atlas and Toledo have 60 days to exercise their pre-emption rights.

ENK flagged the disposals some time ago, stating it is currently focused on its flagship nickel project at Acoje. The sales will boost its cash position to almost A$41 million.

The company is working towards a bankable feasibility study (BFS) at Acoje, which it said last week it now expects to deliver at the end of September. Brokers expect production at Acoje will commence in late 2013 or early 2014.

Last year, ENK sold its Caldag project in Turkey for a total of US$40 million in cash. 

Berong Nickel Corporation owns the Berong mining tenement on the island of Palawan, Philippines. It has a JORC resource estimate compiled in June 2007 of 9.92 m. tonnes of laterite ore at a 1.55 per cent nickel grade. 

ENK (LON:ENK) has appointed Guy Redvers Walker to the board as a non-executive director.

Walker was nominated to the board by ENK’s major shareholders Montoya Investments and D&A Income, which hold stakes of 18.24 percent and 11.63 percent respectively in the Philippines-focused nickel miner.

ENK’s new non-exec currently acts as company secretary for Montoya and is an advisor to D&A income. Walker has previously served as fund manager and chief operating officer of Talisman Global Asset Management and group treasurer of William Pears Group.

A month ago, ENK announced that contained nickel at its Acoje project in the Philippines had increased by 36 percent following the latest in-fill drilling programme.

Total contained nickel at Acoje is currently estimated at over 720,000 tonnes, with 442,000 tonnes in the indicated category and 278,000 tonnes inferred.

The resource estimate – which is compliant with the JORC standard - is 40.9 million tonnes grading 1.08 per cent nickel in the indicated category and 29 million tonnes at 0.96 percent nickel inferred.

ENK had also received "encouraging" results from its drill programme on the neighbouring ZCMC project.

A drilling programme was completed on 6 March with 234 holes drilled totalling 2,175 metres. This represents approximately 90 percent of the total drilling to be completed on the ZCMC tenement.

The current infill drill program final hole depths have averaged 9.5 metres and have penetrated the entire limonite and saprolitic part of the laterite profile.

ENK said an updated JORC resource estimate for the ZCMC project should be available in the June quarter.

Philippines-focused nickel miner ENK (LON:ENK, ASX:ENK) has appointed industry veteran Dean Stuart as its new chief operating officer. 

Stuart has more than 25 years' experience in mining with fourteen years working in Indonesia and Malaysia.

He was involved with several projects for Aurora Gold in Indonesia including the Mt Muro Gold and Silver Project in Central Kalimantan and the Toka Tindung Project in North Sulawesi. 

He was also Avocet Mining’s General Manager of the North Lanut Project in Indonesia and the Penjom Gold Project in Malaysia and established its Technical Services Group based in Malaysia. 

As COO, Stuart will be responsible for the successful completion of the Bankable Feasibility Study and subsequent construction of the Zambales nickel laterite project at Acoje and the overall management of all ENK operations. 

He will also be part of the executive management team focused on growing ENK's interests worldwide, ENK said.

Yesterday, ENK published a new resource estimate for its flagship Acoje project with contained nickel rising by 36 per cent to over 720,000 tonnes.

Of that, 442,000 tonnes was in the indicated category and 278,000 tonnes inferred.

The JORC resource estimate at Acoje is now 40.9 million tonnes grading 1.08 per cent nickel in the indicated category and 29 million tonnes at 0.96 per cent Ni inferred.

The Zambales project is adjacent to Acoje.

- adds broker comment

Broker Investec has raised its target price for Philippines-focused nickel group ENK Minerals (LON:ENK) by 10 per cent after the latest resource upgrade at its Acoje project.

After an assessment by independent consultant Snowden, the estimate of contained nickel at Acoje increased by 36 per cent to over 720,000 tonnes.

Of that, 442,000 tonnes was in the indicated category and 278,000 tonnes inferred.

The JORC resource estimate is now 40.9 million tonnes grading 1.08 per cent nickel in the indicated category and 29 million tonnes at 0.96 per cent Ni inferred.

ENK said that nearly all of the inferred material reported in its previous 2008 estimate had been converted to indicated resources.

The in-fill drilling also delineated a further 20 million tonnes (seven million tonnes Indicated and 13 million tonnes Inferred). 

The resource estimate also includes a complete detailed re-domaining of the ore body at Acoje to include the new metallurgical data it has garnered on the project.

ENK added it had also received encouraging results from its drill programme on the neighbouring Zambales (ZCMC) deposit.

A drilling programme was completed on 6 March with 234 holes drilled for a total of 2,175 metres.  

This represents approximately 90% of the total drilling to be completed on the ZCMC tenement.

“Results thus far have been encouraging as the previously announced JORC Inferred resource estimate in December 2007 of 23.5 million tonnes at 1.18% Ni and 0.05% Co was based solely on test pit data with an average depth of approximately five metres and only penetrated the limonite portion of the profile,“ it said.

The current infill drill program final hole depths have averaged 9.5 metres and have penetrated the entire limonite and saprolitic part of the laterite profile.

ENK said an updated JORC resource estimate for the ZCMC project should be available in the June quarter.

Investec said today's update represented a 40% increase in contained nickel with a further upgrade expected when the results of drilling at Zambales property come through in June.

The house broker said its ENK target price is based on a peer group valuation comparing nickel resources in the ground and taking today's news into account the target price rises from 31p to 34p.